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Hurricanes goaltender Scott Darling watches the puck come off the post with Lucas Wallmark (71) and Red Wings’ Andreas Athanasiou battling nearby during the second period Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.(Photo: Karl B DeBlaker, AP)
RALEIGH, N.C. — This time, the Detroit Red Wings at least held a lead before they fell into a hole.
In what has become a recent trend, the Wings faced a two-goal deficit Saturday at PNC Arena after a poor second period against the Carolina Hurricanes. That marked the third straight time the Wings had to find a way to score twice to get themselves back into a game.
Anthony Mantha emerged from a slump to play the third-period hero, scoring twice. Mantha had a great chance denied by Scott Darling in overtime. Frans Nielsen scored to secure a 4-3 shootout victory, extending the Wings’ winning streak to three straight games and six wins in seven games.
Athanasiou strikes again
How much did the Wings miss Andreas Athanasiou and Nielsen during the four games they were injured? The evidence piles up: Athanasiou scored for the second time in as many games since returning Friday, striking at 8:04 of the first period. Sliding into the right circle, he lifted his stick and one-timed a pass from Nick Jensen to put the Wings up 1-0. Nielsen, who likewise returned Friday, fed the puck to Jensen. It was Nielsen’s sixth assist in his past six games. Nielsen also had one of the shots on net, angling a puck that Darling deflected.
The Hurricanes, who entered the game averaging an NHL-best 41.1 shots per game, tied the game with 3:20 to play when Brock McGinn pounced on a loose puck that had hit Danny DeKeyser down low. That was one of 14 shots the Hurricanes had in the first period. The Wings also had 14.
Penalty problems
A night after the Wings fell behind 2-0 to the N.Y. Rangers while Jacob de la Rose rued a double high-stick call in the penally box, the Wings got themselves in trouble in the second period. They killed off a holding penalty to Justin Abdelkader, but came up short while Michael Rasmussen sat for slashing. Sebastian Aho fired a shot that Micheal Ferland redirected in the slot to beat Bernier stick side, at 8:35. The penalty killing disrupted flow and the Wings didn’t have much attack going the first half of the second period, while the Hurricanes had a solid stretch of offensive zone time. They made it 3-1 with 2:59 to go in the second period when Dougie Hamilton got to Aho’s rebound before Mike Green. Shots after 40 minutes were 37-21 in Carolina’s favor.
Mantha overdue
Martin Frk put a shot on net from the slot early in the third period as the Wings tried for another rally. Mantha took a boarding penalty at 3:51, forcing a third straight penalty kill. Mantha came out of the box and finally made an impact on a game, getting the puck from Athanasiou and lifting a shot from the left circle glove side on Darling. It was only Mantha’s fourth goal of the season, and his first in five games. He followed up three minutes later to make it 3-3. Bernier made a clutch save on Aho late in the game to keep the score tied. Trevor Daley took a hooking penalty with 3:22 to go in regulation to put the Wings shorthanded for a fourth time. Bernier made 49 saves in regulation to 25 by Darling.
More: Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou leading young core
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